1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a small handheld device that is programmable by a user to input a message into the device and thereafter deliver the message to a remote relay station via secure encrypted satcom communication such that the message also includes the location of the device. Logistics assets are dispatched to the location based on the message sent and updated during assets travel.
2. Background of the Prior Art
A soldier in the field often has needs for various items such as water, food, ammunition, etc. While communicating the need and having the need acted on may be relatively straightforward for a soldier in a large formation or an established forward base of operation, such is not always the case for a remote soldier such as a lone forward air controller at or near enemy lines or a combatant that is pinned down. While such a soldier may have some communication equipment that is necessary to communicate with incoming aircraft or other logistics assets, such communication is designed primarily for the combat mission at hand. The soldier may communicate his or her need to a command and control aircraft, which can then relay the message, including the soldier's position, to the appropriate logistics command in order to fulfill the needs of the soldier.
Such a relay system is problematic. The relay aircraft or other command and control site may not necessarily have a direct link to the logistics command, so that one or more secondary message relays may need to be made, all with the hope that each relay of the message is accurate. Additionally, the soldier may need to move so that the soldier may need to update his or her position (or may not even know his or her position), possibly several times prior to delivery, again subject to the limitations of message relaying. Furthermore, oftentimes the soldier may be so close to the enemy so as to make talking into a communications handset, even in a very quiet voice, problematic at best. A solider on the move may need to break voice silence many times during the course of the supply delivery process, often at potentially great peril.
What is needed is a system that can assist a soldier in resupplying his or her immediate needs without the attendant drawbacks currently experienced. Such a system must be able to quickly and efficiently deliver a message to the appropriate command without the need to relay the message through one or more intermediaries and without the need to break voice silence by the sender of the message. Such a system must be able to autonomously determine the requestor's position and update the position if the requestor needs to move prior to supply delivery.